Is Blake Lively a bitch or being misconstrued? Will Elon ever stop cringing us out? And why is everyone using slurs again?
Every week Polyester's head girlies Ione Gamble and Gina Tonic take you down a weekly rabbit hole of online discourse and pop culture - from trad wives and surrogacy to porn stars and unhinged press tours. Exploring the intersection of IRL and URL through a feminist lens, the Polyester Podcast is your weekly digest on absolutely everything everyone on the internet is talking about. With guests like Tavi Gevinson and Sofia Coppola collaborator Stacey Battat, and special episodes beamed into your ears from cultural centres like London’s Tate Modern and Barbican Centre, we offer a down-to-earth take from the front lines of the internet, feminism, and the weird world of celebrity it has spawned.
We release new episodes every Monday - and Dollhouse members get an extra special bonus episode every other week
Our Take On Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights
Emerald Fennell has only gone and done it again - made a visually stimulating but emotionally empty film for posh people to coo over. Is it a faithful adaptation of Wuthering Heights? No. Is it an amazing film in its own right regardless? Also no. Do the sets and costumes make up for bad casting and crap script? Unfortunately, this time, I'm afraid it's a no. In this week's episode, hosts Ione and Gina get to grip with a movie made to try and cause controvery, and answer the question of whether it actually manages to achieve, well anything.
The Girlification of Beta Blockers
“TAKE THAT BETA BLOCKER, GIRL!" exclaims Rachel Sennott on your iPhone from the Oscars red carpet. A couple of years ago, you remember a Kardashian episode dedicated to Khloe taking beta blockers on the back of Kris's advice. Giggly Squad sell you a baseball cap with 'Beta Blockers' emblazoned across it. This week, hosts Ione and GIna dig into the normalisation of the blood pressure medication for treating anxiety. Is celebs talking about anxiety a net positive? Should we be making more of a fuss about the ease we can dupe online pharmacies? Is Big Pharma using meme culture to exploit us all?
Nicki Minaj is MAGA, ICE Out, and can celebrity activism be successful?
As we've come to expect with a political crisis, celebrities have no idea how to act - Do you post to story even if you get labelled performative a la Billie Eilish? Do you prepare a speech in case you're stopped on the red carpet wearing an ICE OUT pin, so you're not caught out like Jack Antonoff? Do you align yourself with the worst people in the world, as Nicki Minaj as opted for in the past couple of months? This week, hosts Ione and Gina delve into the ICE in Minneapolis, how AI is playing a factor and the different ways that celebs getting involved - to varying degrees of success and authenticity.
Bonus Ep Why Do We Want It To Be 2016 Again?
As January began, calendars around the world flipped to 2026 - but on the internet, they flipped back to 2016. Photo dumps with puppy filters, thick contour, and moustache apparel flooded social media - leaving us to ask the question - why do we want it to be 2016 again? In this week’s episode, hosts Ione and Gina dive back into 2016 - by our estimations either the last good year or the first bad year, depending on your perspective.
Bonus episodes are for our Dollhouse subscribers only - sign up below.